EUTHENICS ASPECTS OF SELF-CONCEPT

Cognitive Aspect: Self Schema

Topic 1. KNOWING ONESELF  Cognitive generalizations about the self derived from
Understanding the self past experience
 It is the awareness of and the ability to understand  Organize and guide the processing of self-related
one’s own thoughts and actions. information
 It entails the ability to attain insights into one’s
attitudes, motives, defenses, reactions, together with Affective/Evaluative Aspect: Self-Esteem
the weaknesses and strengths.  Reflects the perceived difference between actual self-
 It is subjective sense of the self and a complex concept and ideal self-image
mixture of conscious and unconscious thoughts,
attitudes and perceptions. Behavioral Aspect: Self Perception
 Understanding self represents the sum total of  Influential self-perception theory by Darn Bem (1972)
people’s conscious perception of their identity as  Observing behavior, making attributions, and drawing
distinct from others. conclusions

The self is not a static phenomenon but continues to COMPONENTS OF SELF-CONCEPT

develop and change throughout lives. Self-Identity
 A sense of personal identity that sets one person apart
Self-understanding has been recognized as a competency as a unique individual
for individuals to function efficiently in any group of  Includes name, gender, ethnic identity, family status,
organization. occupation, and roles
 It influences the individual’s ability to make key Body Image
decisions about self and other people around him.  Attitude about physical attributes, appearance, and
performance
 Understanding self equips individuals with making  Made up of perceptual, affective, cognitive, and
more effective career and life choice, the ability to behavioral aspects
lead, guide and inspire with authenticity. Self-Esteem
 Judgement of personal performance compared with
SELF-CONCEPT self-ideal
 Influences choices and decisions
 It is the set of beliefs that one holds about who they
 Changes and stabilizes based on life experiences
are.
 More different situations faced, the better
 It is the sum total of an individual’s beliefs about his
or her own personal attributes. understanding of oneself and identification with
 Self-concept includes awareness of being and others
awareness of function. ROLE PERFORMANCE
 Role refers to a set of expected behaviors determined
 The ideal self represents the self-concept that an
individual would ideally want to possess. by familial, cultural, and social norms. The level of
self-esteem is dependent upon the self-perception of
adequate role performance in these various social
Our self-concept is “what we perceive ourselves to be,”
roles.
and involves aspects of image and esteem.
 How we see ourselves and how we feel about
ourselves influences how we communicate with COMPONENTS OF SELF-ESTEEM
others. Self-Confidence
 Charles Cooley calls this concept the looking-glass  Feeling of security and foundation of self-esteem
self.  Develops when needs are met and encouraged to try
 Leon Festinger added that we engage in social new things
comparisons to evaluate ourselves in relation to our Identity
peers.  Knowledge we have of ourselves
 Experimenting, learning, and getting feedback to
Self-reflection is a trait that allows us to adapt and change identify characteristics, abilities, needs, and feelings
to our context or environment, to accept or reject Feeling of Belonging
messages, to examine our concept of ourselves and choose  Belonging to various groups and defining ourselves
to improve. by relationships and experiences
Feeling of Competence
Topic 2. TWO WAYS IN WHICH WE PERCEIVE  Related to motivation, success, and learning new
OURSELVES things
Positive self-concept:
 believe in themselves and are confident about their BARRIERS TO SELF-AWARENESS
ability  Our own Bias
 Realistic in the assessment of themselves  Feedback Avoidance: Feedback from others can be
 Can admit to a wide range of feelings, behaviors, and an experience we would rather avoid, however, it is a
needs key principal of self-awareness.
Negative self-concept: 
 see themselves as failures Taking Action: This is always one of the hardest
 Have a negative, pessimistic image of themselves steps to take, change requires us to step out from our
 Find it difficult to accept criticisms comfort zones, take risks and try things differently
The Philosophers of the SELF  The self is the Brain
SOCRATES  For Paul, the eliminative materialism or the idea of
 Life is not worth living the self is inseparable from the brain and the
 For Socrates, life is not worth living if it is not physiology of the body; the self is the brain.
examined.
 For him, the soul is synonymous with the self. He MERLEAU-PONTY
believes that human beings have immortal souls that  The self is Embodied Subjectivity
live within the physical body.  For Maurice, all the knowledge about the self is based
on the "phenomena" of experience. It means that the
PLATO self is a product of the experiences that he had, and he
 The self is an Immortal Soul builds up his identity through all those experiences in
 There are three elements of the soul: Reason, Physical the past in which a person made decisions and such.
Appetite, Spirit or Passion. Reason is the ability of the 
self to think critically, and make wise decisions. POWER LEARNING STRATEGIES AND
Physical Appetite is the basic needs of a person, MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES
hunger, thirst and sexual desires. Lastly, Spirit or  Learning is an action to gather information and
Passion is composed of the basic emotions that the validate it through experience.
self encounters.  Learning is acquiring skill or knowledge,
ARISTOTLE modifying behaviours, and becoming aware of
 The soul is the Essence of the Self something.
 Steps of Power Learning: Prepare, organize,
 For Aristotle, the main good of the self is to lead a
good, flourishing and fulfilling life. work, evaluate, and rethink for success in
academics and careers.
AUGUSTINE  Consider group study to discuss concepts and ask
 The self has an Immortal Soul questions with other students.
 Saint Augustine noted that the body is united with the  Students struggle in college due to time
soul as a whole, and not separated. He is the one who management, organization, and lack of quality
said “I am doubting, therefore I am" study time. Combat this by creating a study
schedule, studying in groups, and using academic
DESCARTES
resources.
 I think therefore I am
 Understanding Yourself as a Learner:
 Rene suggests that there are two dimensions of the
o Learning style is how you prefer to take in new
self: The self as a thinking entity and the self as a
physical body. He also emphasized on the saying "I information.
think therefore I am" which means that a rational o Identify your most productive times for
thinking person and being self conscious is the proof studying.
that there is a self. o Maintain a neat, organized workspace for
better productivity.
LOCKE o Find a less distracting environment to stay
 The self is Consciousness focused.
 For John, conscious awareness and memory of o Determine if background noise helps or hinders
precious experiences are the keys to understanding his your productivity.
self. He said that the fact that the person is a thinking o Use study partners effectively to stay on task.
entity, reasonable and reflecting on its identity, then o Manage stress by making time for activities
there is a self. that help reduce stress.
Howard Gardner's theory of multiple
HUME
intelligences proposes that people are not born with all of
 There is no self
the intelligence they will ever have. This theory
 For David, there is no self if a person carefully
challenged the traditional notion that there is one single
examines himself through the method of
type of intelligence, sometimes known as “g” for general
introspection. The self is just a result of the
intelligence, which only focuses on cognitive abilities. 
humanistic imagination and thoughts that build up a
person's characteristics. Intelligence is often defined as our intellectual potential;
something we are born with, something that can be
KANT
measured, and a capacity that is difficult to change.
 We construct the self
 For Immanuel, the people are the ones to create their Visual-spatial intelligence: good at visualizing things,
own self. The self constructs its own reality which directions, maps, charts, videos, and pictures.
actively produces a world that is predictable to Linguistic-verbal intelligence: good at using words well
him/her. in writing and speaking, writing stories, memorizing, and
reading.
FREUD Logical-mathematical intelligence: good at reasoning,
 Self is Multilayered recognizing patterns, and logically analyzing problems.
 For Sigmund, there are three layers of the self: Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence: good at body movement,
Conscious, Unconscious, and Preconscious actions, and physical control, excellent hand-eye
coordination and dexterity.
RYLE
Musical intelligence: good at thinking in patterns,
 The Self is the Way People Behave
rhythms, and sounds, appreciation for music, musical
 For Gilbert, the self is best understood as a pattern of
composition, and performance.
behavior, the capacity of a person to act and make a
move in certain ways and conditions. Interpersonal intelligence: good at understanding and
interacting with other people, assessing emotions,
CHURCHLAND motivations, desires, and intentions.
Intrapersonal intelligence: good at being aware of own
emotional states, feelings, and motivations, self-reflection,
analysis, exploring relationships, and assessing personal
strengths.